Annalynn: 12 Months

by Meghann on October 1, 2016

Happy Birthday, Annalynn!!

You are one year old today!

I can’t believe it. A year ago today your daddy and I were on pins and needles waiting for your arrival. We had no idea what the next 24 hours would bring, let alone the next year! We loved you from the moment saw you and our love continues to grows each and every day. You’re our beautiful, intelligent, hilarious baby girl and it’s been such a joy watching you grow.

Milestones

We have a walker!!

The way other parents share stories and videos, I always assumed something would just click one day and you would pull yourself up and just start walking. That has definitely not been the case. This milestone has been more of a gradual process. You started attempting 1-2 steps at a time a few weeks ago and have been gradually building yourself up from there. You’re now up to about a dozen steps at a time, though still not 100% consistent. You definitely prefer to have a goal (like a person or object) as motivation to move. You generally take a few steps and then fall into the goal. We’re still working on walking with shoes on. You absolutely hate wearing shoes (like your mama) and can’t stand trying to walk in them.

You’re also able to pull yourself up from sitting to standing without any assistance. You clap and say “yay”, wave “bye-bye,” and play tug of war with Maddie. Your favorite game right now is “Where’s Annalynn?” where you hide in the curtain wait to be discovered. You have the best laugh when we play this game.

Sleeping

We had a huge breakthrough in the sleep department this week. Mama had to work late and your dad managed to put you to sleep without a bottle. I was seriously impressed by his mad dad skills. I still nurse you to sleep most night(and don’t have any plans to stop anytime soon), but it’s a comfort to know that you don’t need a bedtime bottle when I’m not home.

You’re sleeping pretty consistently through the night at this point. You’ll occasionally wake up here and there, but you tend to nurse for a couple of minutes and go right back down.

Naps are still terrible at daycare (as they’ve always been!). The daycare director told me the other week that she thinks you don’t sleep because you’re so nosey. You have to check out everything that’s going on and will only sleep if everyone else is down and nothing interesting is happening. Luckily you’ll still a decent napper at home. On the weekends you’ll take two 2 hour naps and we love you for it (knock on wood!). I have no idea what they’re going to do with you when they move you to the toddler room next month and you’ll nap on a cot. That’s just crazy to me.

Eating

You remain my great little eater. Minus your smash cake, which I was really surprised you didn’t like. I told everyone that you were going to dive on and in and I was sooo excited to watch it happen. The big moment arrived, you took one taste, and were over it. What the heck kid?! You only became interested when we added puffs on the side (awesome tip from our photographer).

You only have two teeth (with the river of drool you produce everyday you’d expect a mouthful at this point), but that doesn’t stop you from eating everything in sight. You love chicken, peas, carrots, cheese, banana, and cheerios. You’re eating the same thing as the “big kids” in daycare now and are known for not even leaving a crumb behind.

You’ve reverted back to 4 bottles at daycare. Mama stopped being able to keep up with your milk intake, so you’ve had 1/2 fresh milk and 1/2 freezer stash for the last month now. I can’t tell you how thankful I’ve been to have the freezer stash to supplement with. I’ve started weaning off the pump and will stop completely in a week or two. Woo hoo! You’re still nursing in the morning and night and I’m happy to keep doing that as long as you want, baby girl!

Next week you’ll begin your transition to the toddler room at daycare. *sniff* That means stopping bottles, having to wear shoes, and sleeping in a cot – BIG CHANGES! I’ve been told you’re ready for it, but I’m not sure I am. You’ll be great, just ignore the sobbing mama when I drop you off for the first few times.

Mommy and daddy love you so much, Annalynn. You are our greatest achievement. We can’t wait to see what the next year will bring!

Happy Birthday to your little one! When my son entered the toddler room I was so nervous! He transitioned beautifully, and it was great for him to have some older kids to be around instead of being the oldest baby.

Happy Birthday to your little beauty! My son was a horrible napper in the infant room for the same reasons.. they all napped at different times and he didn’t want to miss out. As soon as he moved to the toddler room and they all napped together, he did great! I have no idea how they keep them on those cots.. those ladies are miracle workers!

AnnaLynn is growing up fast! And she’s adorable. It’s good to hear that he sleep routine is getting less dependant on you guys so you guys can sleep more.Linda @ the fitty recently posted..Do I have a Mustache? + Other Things

She is beautiful 🙂 It’s crazy to imagine our little one year olds as “toddlers”! They still seem so little.

A question about your daycare – once they’re one year old and they move to the toddler room they’re not permitted bottles anymore? Will you keep sending breastmilk in a sippy cup? This seems strange to me that the daycare decides when your little one needs to stop with a bottle, especially when she’s still having 4 bottles of bm a day. So curious about this!

Try leather soled shoes like Robeez, bobux, or freshly picked. My kids would only walk in thoseb until they had been walking well for a few months. Her little brain knows, as close to barefoot as possible is best!

Both of my boys were also terrible nappers in the infant room at daycare! As another commenter mentioned, I’m sure it’s because they all nap on-demand, at different times, so it’s never quiet in there. Once they moved to the toddler room, they starting napping 2-3 hours. I agree, I have no idea how the teachers get 10 toddlers to all nap on cots at the same time, but they do! Every single day! It’s crazy! I have picked up during nap on occasion (if there is a doctor appointment or something) and it is the sweetest thing to witness, I recommend popping in at least once to see it 🙂 Overall, we LOVED the toddler room. Agree, big changes, but the babies do so well with it, and it’s much more engaging for them to be in that room. I’m sure your sweetie will love it, too!

We’re about a month behind you, and while I’m excited for my little man to explore a new room at daycare (and SO excited to no longer have to worry about putting booties on to enter his room!!!!), I’m kind of dreading the change! He mostly doesn’t nap well at daycare (serious case of FOMO), and once he’s in the toddler room they go down to one nap a day. It ends up being a really long morning since we’re up at 6am, and nap time isn’t until 12 or 12:30! I’m not sure how to adjust, but I feel like that timing is catered to the kids who get to daycare around 8:30-9am and we’re there at 7!